In hybrid vehicle powertrains including more than one power source there may be multiple competing controls objectives that would preferably be met simultaneously. These goals may include providing the total power demanded by the operator and maintaining an optimal reserve of stored energy. In electric hybrid power plants, these goals may further include managing battery usage to extend battery life as it may be one of, if not the most expensive component in the system. A number of additional goals may also be pursued in various applications. The total power generated may be optimized for efficiency both instantaneously and over an operating cycle. Each of the power sources may be governed within respective operating limits. Non-powertrain energy parasitics may be accommodated without affecting the powertrain performance. The continuously changing mix of power sources may be accomplished smoothly to reduce or minimize their perceptibility to the operator. The simultaneous and competing demands imposed by multiple goals present a challenging and complex controls problem. Heretofore a variety of control schemes for hybrid vehicles have been proposed. However, existing approaches suffer from drawbacks and undesirable limitations. For example, many existing approaches are complex and ultimately couple the power-split decision making to the total power demanded by the operator. Such systems have difficulty managing total SOC in different drive cycles, and produce sub-optimal outcomes for energy capture, fuel economy, battery life, and other considerations.